Erik Needham Woodworks

Erik Needham Woodworks Designing and building thoughtful furniture rooted in craft, music, and everyday life. Based in San Francisco. Custom pieces made with care and intention.

04/09/2026

I got a box today from … and inside was one of the nicest leather shop aprons I’ve ever seen.

It’s kind of hard to explain how well made this thing is.
I’ve been wearing the same Artifact Bags apron for over a decade. It’s… seen some things. Probably more blood than recommended.

But the top row of tool holders were loose, so every time I’d bend over, everything would fall out. And the front pockets were wide open, so they’d just fill up with sawdust… straight into my iPhone’s charging port. My poor phone never stood a chance.

This one fixes all of that. Thoughtful pockets, better layout, everything actually stays where it’s supposed to.

It did, unfortunately, miss its first opportunity to get soaked in blood and take a field trip to the ER this weekend… but I’m excited to start breaking it in today. Preferably without the trauma.

Only downside… apparently it doesn’t make my skinny butt look thicc’r.

Sigh.
#

A remarkable hat trick for composer Ludwig Göransson.Three Academy Awards for Best Original Score across three very diff...
03/16/2026

A remarkable hat trick for composer Ludwig Göransson.
Three Academy Awards for Best Original Score across three very different films: Black Panther, Oppenheimer, and now Sinners. An extraordinary run and a huge contribution to modern film music.
Some years back I built a massive Eurorack cabinet for Ludwig’s studio during an earlier chapter of my shop when I was designing modular systems like this.
I don’t make these anymore, but it felt like a fitting moment to pull this one from the archives. Congratulations on the achievement.

03/08/2026

The final Lani Lobes tambour credenza is approaching the finish line. Aside from a bit of clean up and a few minor details, it’ll be ready to ship back to Manhattan next week.
The original prototype had a carcass made primarily from bamboo ply. It was the first real attempt at bringing this idea into the world, and in hindsight it carried more meaning than I probably understood at the time. It was a special piece on a number of levels.
Over the past year I’ve been slowly evolving the design. Iterating on the details, refining the lighting, learning what the piece wanted to be. In some ways the process of refining it has mirrored my own. The original still feels singular to me, and this version isn’t a replacement so much as the next step in the same story.
This time the piece is built from solid black walnut, wenge, and quarter sawn white oak. And while the spirit of the original is still there, this one is a different beast altogether.
I’ll share one more video tomorrow along with some proper glamour shots, but this quick peek should get you about 75% of the way there.
I truly hope you like it.

02/26/2026

Strange and amazing day at the shop.
I’m inside admiring a fresh haul of black walnut when I hear a man screaming from outside. The delivery driver had somehow lodged his semi into the branches of a tree next to the warehouse and couldn’t move. Fully wedged. Nowhere to go.
Meanwhile, across the lot, a local m**h enthusiast is delicately removing the remaining fragments of an already-looted motorcycle. The thing’s been stripped so many times it looks like a turkey carcass the day after Thanksgiving. Just bones and regret.
Industrial poetry.
Enter the Irishman next door with a forklift the size of a small republic. He nudges the semi free like it’s a mild inconvenience, then helps us move twelve-foot slabs of walnut off the truck and onto the ramp.
I offered him a bottle of Scotch for the rescue. He said he doesn’t drink. Which, in Irish, usually means he may have been a little too Irish at some point in his life.
Crisis resolved.
And the wood… my god.
Black walnut from Penn’s Woods in upstate Pennsylvania just hits differently. Claro is still king in my heart, but this haul is som**hing else. Clean 8/4 boards. Twelve feet long. Twelve inches wide and up. Almost no sapwood. Barely a knot. Some of the grain genuinely stopped me in my tracks.
Now they’re stacked inside, acclimating to San Francisco’s mood swings before we start milling.

The upper cabinet of a walnut two-cabinet system, designed to house a Eurorack setup behind fumed white oak tambour door...
02/25/2026

The upper cabinet of a walnut two-cabinet system, designed to house a Eurorack setup behind fumed white oak tambour doors that glide along brass runners.
Much more to come on this build, and plenty of table updates en route.
We also had a visit today from my friend , who happens to be very funny for a living.

02/22/2026

Snuck in a few hours on a passion project today while the crew pushed forward on table builds. Heavy usage of the sander lights & portable blower to close out my week of producstitution.
Finally dialed the brass bar bending technique for the tight, asymmetrical radius on both sides of this upper cabinet.
It’s part of a bookshelf system that will house… take a guess…
Yes. A Eurorack system.

02/19/2026

Thanks to all who inquired about joining my team.
We’re locked and loaded with local talent, and I’ll reach back out if we need more help.

Just got to the shop in the SF rain to a couple packages I’ve been excited to check out.
First up: these Tools sander lights. They clip right onto your sander and throw a strong raking LED across your work surface so you can actually see every tiny imperfection while you prep. No more chasing scratches after finish time.
And this battery blower, a cordless, super-lightweight blower that runs on your existing 18–21V ecosystem (Milwaukee/DeWalt/Makita) and pushes serious airflow for clearing dust and debris without dragging an airline around the shop.
I’ve got air hoses everywhere, but those aren’t always at the ready inside cabinets and tight spots, so this thing should be a huge help. Can’t wait to see how it performs on real dust fest situations.
Two small additions that are already proving useful in the middle of a giant table build, more on both soon.

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San Fransisco, CA

Telephone

+14156720820

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